The midnight visitor
Theme
The story highlights the theme that wisdom is more powerful than other weapons. Ausable's intelligence
is highlighted in the story. It is also based on the theme that one should not judge a person by merely his
appearance. Ausable is fat and lazy but he is the most intelligent of all in the story.
Word meanings
1- Sloppy – careless
2- Grimly – strongly
3- Deftly – skillfully.
4-Espionage – agents
5-Envision – visualize
6-Prosaic – dull/dry
7- Menacing – Threaten
8- Nuisance – Bother, trouble
Questions and answers
Q1- What great qualities made Ausable a successful secret agent?
Ans. Ausable was a secret agent in an organization. He was alert and resourceful. He was a cool-headed
person and had a lot of presence of mind. He was an American and could also speak German and
French.
Q2- Why did Ausable frame the story of the balcony?
Ans. Ausable knew that Max was scared and he used his ignorance and foolishness in his own favour. He
framed the story of the balcony to convince Max about the balcony which was actually non-existent. It
helped Ausable to get out of a dangerous and critical situation.
Q3- What was Fowler’s perception about a secret agent?
Ans. Fowler had a romantic perception about a secret agent. He used to think that a secret agent should
be tall and handsome. He should deal with a dangerous situation. His life should be full of thrill and
action. He should receive messages from mysterious beautiful woman and be surrounded by mysterious
figures.
Q4-. Presence of mind and intelligence is more powerful than a gun.’ How far is it true in case of
Ausable, the secret agent?
Answer- Ans. A good spy need not be handsome, attractive and smart. Physical strength can be
additional advantage but certainly not the essential one. Secret agents have to face critical situations at
every step. One night, Ausable found Max in his room. There was an automatic pistol in his hand. He had
come there to take the report from Ausable. Max was also a secret agent of another organisation.
Ausable was not the least afraid of Max’s presence. He thought of a clever trick. He convinced Max
about a balcony outside the window. Just then there was a loud knock at the door. Ausable told Max
that it was police to provide him security. Max had no time to think. Max rushed towards the window
and dropped to the non-existent balcony and met his tragic end. Ausable did not use physical strength.
He won over the critical situation by his sheer presence of mind.
Q4-How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
Answer:
Ausable is different from other secret agents in more than one way. He has a small room in the musty
corridor of a gloomy French hotel. It was the sixth and topmost floor and it was scarcely the setting for a
romantic adventure. Ausable was extremely fat. Inspite of living in Paris for over twenty years, he spoke
French and German moderately and had an American accent. Instead of getting messages slipped into
his hands by dark-eyed beauties, he got only a telephone call making an appointment. In these ways, he
was different from the conventional notion of a spy.
Q5- How did Max attempt but failed to acquire the secret paper from Ausable?
Answer:
Max’s organisation had ordered him to grab the secret report on missiles which the people of Ausable’s
organisation had managed to get. He used a passkey and entered Ausable’s hotel room at midnight. He
was holding a revolver in his hand since he intended to grab the report at pistol point. Ausable invented
the fake story of a balcony extending under his window just to embarrass Max.
He remarked that it was the second time in the month that somebody had got into his room through
that’ balcony. Instantly there was a knock at the door. Ausable’s remark that police had arrived to check
on him unnerved Max.- To save his life, Max rushed towards the window. In hot haste, Max dropped to
the non-existent balcony and met his tragic end. Thus he failed to acquire the secret paper.
Q6- How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room?
Look back at his detailed description of it. What makes it a convincing story?
Answer:
Ausable tells Max that someone entered his room through the balcony earlier also. He also told him that
^ he had asked police to give him protection as he had some important papers with him. On listening
this, Max became nervous and just wanted to escape from police and as a result, without noticing, he
jumped . out of the window and fell down. Ausable’s ability to think quickly and calmly in a situation of
panic, makes it convincing.
Practice Questions
Q1- Why did Max Jump out of the window of Ausable’s room? Why did he scream loudly?
Q2- The balcony plays a significant role in the story ‘The Midnight Visitor’, How?
Q3- Who actually had knocked at the door of Ausable’s room? Why did he come there?
